In varicose veins, the blood stagnates inside the valves of the blood vessels, leading to the dilation and swelling of the veins. The process is accompanied by a change in their color. Veins, as a rule, on the legs, take on a purple or blue hue, they become noticeable (protruding above the surface of the skin). Varicose veins are considered a cosmetic defect, but some people susceptible to this pathology have physical ailments.
Varicose vein medications relieve the following symptoms:
- pain (especially while walking);
- swelling;
- feeling of heaviness (or fullness) at the site of varicose veins;
- seizures (more often at night);
- skin modification and the appearance of accompanying pathologies (dermatitis, eczema).
Important! It is impossible to completely cure varicose veins, but various therapeutic methods help to suppress the manifestations of the pathology and its further development.
How to recognize the first signs of varicose veins?
To start treating varicose veins on time, you need to know what symptoms indicate an impending illness. There are 6 stages of varicose veins:
- onset of the disease, indicated by edema, heaviness in the legs and nocturnal leg muscle cramps, nocturnal changes in leg temperature - are hot or cold;
- the first phase is characterized by the appearance of spider veins;
- on the other, thickening of the veins and the formation of nodules on them;
- the third in the evening adds a strong swelling of the legs.
The last two stages are the formation of trophic ulcers. Discoloration of the skin on the feet in the affected areas should also be warned. It takes on a brown hue. The greatest success in treatment can be achieved in the initial and first stages. Therefore, at the first symptoms it is necessary to visit a doctor and start treatment.
The problem of varicose veins is especially acute for pregnant and breastfeeding women. Manifestations of the disease significantly worsen the condition, and treatment options are limited. Therefore, when evaluating drugs against varicose veins, we will pay attention to the possibility of its use during these periods.
Groups of drugs used to treat varicose veins
Several types of medications are used to treat varicose veins: ointments, creams, tablets, injections. All drugs belong to one of the following groups:
- Unclassified. Medications that relieve pain and accompanying symptoms (fever, burning, headache). They are also prone to blood thinning. In varicose veins, drugs from this group are often prescribed in the form of tablets or solutions for injection.
- Phlebotonics. They are used in the treatment of chronic varicose veins. The drugs increase the elasticity of blood vessels and strengthen their walls, as well as improve blood microcirculation. With prolonged use, phlebotonics stop the symptoms of varicose veins and prevent further development of pathology.
- Antioxidants. They are used to accelerate the outflow of fluids, increase elasticity and strengthen blood vessels. Antioxidants help fight the cosmetic manifestations of varicose veins (venous network), but they also have a therapeutic effect.
Also during treatment, the doctor may prescribe decongestants, injections of saline.
Important! In addition to medication, compression stockings are used to combat the manifestations of varicose veins. These can be special socks or tights that limit the progression of the pathology.
Non-joining
Disaggregate or antiplatelet agents should only be used after consultation with a physician or for a short period of time. Drugs from this group dilute the blood, so they can cause a number of side effects:
- prolonged bleeding;
- drop in blood pressure (blood pressure);
- dizziness, bad feelings.
Important! The absolute contraindication for their use is heart failure (regardless of the stage of the disease).
Just taking acetylsalicylic acid is dangerous, because side effects can develop (especially a sudden decrease in blood clotting rate).
Important! Antiplatelet agents, together with anticoagulants, increase the risk of thrombosis, so the use of drugs from these categories is recommended separately.
Phlebotonics
Preparations from the group of phlebotonics have a complex effect on the body. With varicose veins they perform the main therapeutic functions: they increase the elasticity of blood vessels and stabilize blood flow.
The most effective substances in this category:
- Rutoside. It refers to group P vitamins. The substance is contained in several dosage forms (especially in tablets). Rutoside is found in vegetables, fruits and berries.
- Pentoxifylline. It has a positive effect on the microcirculation of blood and its rheological properties (fluidity, viscoplasticity). Pentoxifylline drugs also act on blood vessels to increase their elasticity. Hesperidin. A substance that reduces the elasticity of veins, reduces blood congestion and permeability of capillary walls. It also has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
Preparations from this group are extracted from natural compounds. Due to their natural origin, drugs have the fewest side effects.
Anticoagulants
Preparations from the group of anticoagulants have anticoagulant properties. A popular drug in this category is heparin. It is a drug with direct action. It comes in the form of a solution for injection. It is administered either intravenously (in particularly severe cases) or subcutaneously (as part of a complex therapy).
Important! These drugs should not be used for bleeding and pregnancy. Also, anticoagulants are not recommended for women during lactation (breastfeeding).
Antioxidants
Antioxidants are more commonly used to prevent or reduce the risk of varicose vein progression. These medications are optional.
Additional recommendations
To alleviate the painful symptoms of varicose veins, you need to take a warm or warm bath, exercise and go to the bath more often. The set of exercises depends on the stage of the disease.
Also, direct exposure to sunlight (and, in principle, any heating of the area of localization of the pathology) helps with varicose veins. But when using this method, it is important to use products with sun protection factor, so as not to accelerate the aging of the skin and increase the risk of developing cancer.
Tablets against varicose veins
Self-treatment of varicose veins is the most popular method of therapy. The Internet is full of miraculous recipes about apple cider vinegar, leeches and other magical technologies, and our fellow citizens are happy to believe that. Varicose veins can now be cured cheaply or even for free by certified professionals, but miracle shamans are still very popular. These are probably the remnants of the primitive communal system of our ancestors. Only pain can make a person run to the doctor, we will diligently lubricate uncomplicated varicose veins with various nasty things in the hope that one day they will get rid of.
Remedy for varicose veins
The vast majority of people, choosing between surgical treatment of any disease (in our case varicose veins) and possible non-invasive treatment, be it capsules, varicose vein tablets, gels, ointments, herbs and infusions, will choose thissecondly, especially if it will broadcast from all screens about its efficiency and uselessness of any operations. The amount of information to stun patients can be judged by the number of advertisements for pills and creams against varicose veins on all federal channels, where happy girls easily run after smearing their healthy feet with miracle cream or taking miracle pills.
So what to do and take in case of varicose veins?
Before the standard offer to contact our center, we will tell you about really effective methods that can facilitate the course of the disease.
In this section, we suggest forgetting about the terribly effective pills that “help” with varicose veins and remembering traditional and proven methods.
Massage and bath for varicose veins
Massage is, unlike many cheap phlebotonics from advertising, a method of active treatment of varicose veins, helping to prevent edema, the very removal of swelling, fatigue of the lower extremities and reduce general fatigue of the body.
The innovative vascular center uses all types of modern massage, especially for pathologies of the lymphatic and venous system. One of the exclusive methods is the technology of lymphatic drainage massage with strips, which very effectively alleviates chronic venous insufficiency.
In chronic venous insufficiency, massage is used to remove venous hypertension in varicose veins and postthrombotic syndrome. The combination of this technology with bonding allows you to effectively eliminate all clinical manifestations of the disease.
Therapeutic massage is a very effective remedy for the symptomatic treatment of varicose veins in the legs, but gives only temporary relief. We use manual lymphatic drainage in patients with severe edema in patients with lymphatic venous insufficiency. There is no need to be afraid of "tearing blood clots" with such treatment, but in case of worsening it should not be used.
But the bath is a completely different thing: with varicose veins, thrombophlebitis of the lower extremities or post-thrombotic disease, it is very dangerous. Any thermal stress can cause the formation of blood clots in deep veins, carried by blood flow, with all the consequences. Dehydration in the bathtub leads to "thickening" of the blood. Do not expose yourself to unnecessary risks. Varicose veins will not disappear from the bath, and thrombophlebitis can occur.
Laser treatment of varicose veins
Varicose veins - a disease that does not tolerate deposits in treatment. By not paying proper attention to the course of the disease, the person inadvertently worsens his situation, increasing the probability of surgery.
Medicine is evolving every day and it is good that nowadays there are alternatives to surgery - laser treatment of varicose veins.
Laser treatment of varicose veins is as effective a method as surgery, but absolutely painless treatment.Unlike drugs, a special advantage is speed. Laser treatment is used in hospitals, beauty salons, when it is necessary to remove a mild degree of varicose veins - spider veins.
First, the doctor injects the patient with pain medication and glues the damaged veins with a laser. After such a procedure, the patient must wear compression underwear for a year.
The first results are visible within 5-7 months after laser treatment. Many patients prefer this solution to the problem because laser therapy, unlike pills and other drugs, is fast, inexpensive, effective, and harmless.
Folk remedies for the treatment of varicose veins
Sometimes it happens that due to individual intolerance to any pills and medications a person is forced to abandon the traditional treatment of varicose veins.You don't have to worry, because natural ingredients are included in the same creams, ointments and other preparations.Many harmful chemicals are added to them alone.
However, it should not be forgotten that all folk remedies are effective only in the initial stage of varicose veins. Traditional medicinal recipes, like traditional medicines, are aimed at improving blood circulation.
Before effective drugs appeared in the fight against varicose veins, our ancestors used homemade creams, ointments, infusions, lotions of birch leaves, chestnuts, burdock, apple cider vinegar, hops, calendula. Such drugs treat sore feet no worse than many modern drugs and expensive pills.
For example, a natural remedy from infused crushed kalanchoe leaves was rubbed into the legs for a month, the pain syndrome disappeared, and the venous networks became less noticeable. Such a natural preparation worked quite well and was obviously not inferior to the tablets.
With pronounced symptoms that bring discomfort and discomfort to daily life and suspicion of varicose veins in the legs, you do not need to prescribe pills and medications on your own. It is recommended to visit a phlebologist who will professionally select an individual drug to treat varicose veins.
Horse Chestnut
In folk medicine, the first place belongs to the wild chestnut. The effectiveness of treating varicose veins is the result of the content of several plants in the plant:
- escin strengthens blood vessel walls, dilutes blood and has an antibacterial effect;
- esculin prevents the formation of vascular network (strengthens capillaries and other small vessels) and blood clots;
- tannins have the ability to bind protein and fix it to the vascular wall, thus increasing its strength;
- rutin reduces vascular wall permeability;
- Kempferol helps in tissue regeneration, heals ulcers and acts against cancer.
The result of the use of folk remedies based on wild chestnut is achieved by a course of treatment. It is expressed by reduction of edema, swollen veins, heaviness, itching and pain. The disadvantage of wild chestnut is the inability to treat it during childbearing and breastfeeding. Like any folk remedy, it is only an adjunct to drug therapy. Effective medicines have been created on the basis of wild chestnut extract.
Apple cider vinegar
Even official medicine recognizes its benefits for treating varicose veins. A huge amount of nutrients - acids, amino acids, vitamins and minerals - allows you to fight several manifestations of varicose veins at once. The application of apple cider vinegar allows:
- normalize vascular tone;
- increase skin elasticity and avoid the thinning that usually accompanies the disease;
- remove the island;
- to increase smooth muscle tone;
- relieve inflammation thanks to the antiseptic properties of apple cider vinegar.
Commercial apple cider vinegar is not suitable for treating varicose veins. The homemade version is easy to make from fresh apples. There are two possible uses - external and internal. Concentrated vinegar is used for baths, compresses, wrapping and pouring. It must be diluted for oral administration. The tool can be used only in the absence of a threat of blood clots.
Compression aids
Compression stockings and leggings represent 50% success in treating varicose veins. Their main purpose is to improve the functioning of the mechanism of venous valves, venous-muscular pump and microcirculation, ie the ability of capillaries to absorb extracellular fluid. These goals are achieved by pressing on the muscles in specific locations. There is preventive underwear, there is medical. The more severe the stage of the disease, the more pressure the socks should exert. Prophylaxis is available for sale, and the drug is sold only on prescription.
Wound healing bandages
The late stages of varicose veins are characterized by the appearance of trophic ulcers. This is a serious condition that often requires hospital treatment and care. Different remedies are used to help with trophic ulcers, depending on the condition and stage of treatment. One of them is a healing compress that helps clean the wound and absorb the exudate.
Our review is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation for the use of the above treatments for varicose veins. Certain appointments can only be made by a doctor who is a doctor based on the patient's condition and individual characteristics of his body.
Effective drugs to prevent thrombosis in varicose veins
Thrombophlebitis is a common complication of varicose veins of the lower extremities, especially during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Low molecular weight heparin is a proven drug for the prevention of vascular thrombi. Tablets are used in our clinic to prevent thrombophlebitis after the treatment of varicose veins. The course of treatment with tablets is 7 days after the intervention with a laser or radio frequency.
It is better to consult a phlebologist, and then, as a specialist with higher medical education, will perform a comprehensive examination and prescribe adequate treatment, including drug therapy (the best pills against varicose veins), but still the most effective remedy for varicose veinsbe -laser coagulation.
Remember that the best cure for any disease, even varicose veins, is an active and healthy lifestyle. Therapeutic exercises, walks in the fresh air strengthen the venous wall better than any pill. Proper way of work and rest, use of an elevated position to relieve tension from the legs, swimming in the sea and in the pool - these measures are the best preventive and curative means. Do not assume that if the packaging of the antistax tablet says "made from grape leaves", it is no longer a chemical preparation. Why poison yourself with ineffective drugs, if it is impossible to remove varicose veins with their help.